A sign of things to come

On the last day of August, Michele Arteme's studio smelled of sawdust. A week out from its scheduled opening, her do-it-yourself crafting space, Board & Brush, at 20 N. Main St. was coming together.

"The furniture is built," she said, surveying the room. "They're still building the bar."

A jigsaw whined in one corner as a carpenter cut out space for the sink. As a first-time entrepreneur, Arteme said there's definitely stress to the final week of preparations.

"Today I'm super excited," she said. "Yesterday I was in tears."

But the pressure, she said is somewhat counteracted by the fact that her vision is closer than ever to fruition. Customers have already booked dates to come have a drink and create some handpainted home decor.

Cutline-Body Copy:Michele Arteme and her husband Tommy Arteme pose in her store, Board & Brush, Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 20 N. Main St. in downtown Cape Girardeau.Andrew J. Whitaker

"I want this to be a place where people can come work with their hands and use their creative sides, which we in our professional lives don't always get to do," she said. "Working with your hands helps you relax."

Arteme's own professional background is in pharmaceutical sales and her entrepreneurial spark, she said, came from a combination of opportunity and desire for change.

"It started between me and my sister as almost a joke," she said, recalling their shared enjoyment of crafting. "We learned how to cut stencils at a craft fair and it was so inspiring and peaceful, but empowering at the same time... So as soon as I saw the Board and Brush website, I thought 'That's it. That's what I want to do.'"

But deciding to do it, she found, is easier than the actual doing.

"I'm going at so many different angles every day," she said. "Starting a business is not 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's work 'till midnight to get up at 5 a.m."

Finding a space, licensing the business, obtaining a liquor license, all of it was new territory for her.

"You just have to push 'play' and go," she said. Now, she said she's working on joining the downtown merchants' group and the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

"I want to help get downtown to a really great place. And I love seeing people create stuff," she said. "One thing at a time."